A growing chorus of leftist voices is calling to expand the Supreme Court. Their reasoning: Conservatives on the court have too much power, and it's time for redress. "Expansion of the Supreme Court presents an opportunity for lawmakers to rein in the power of a dangerous conservative majority," argues Tag24's Kaitlyn Kennedy.

"At a certain point, @POTUS must call on Congress to expand the Supreme Court," former Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner tweeted . "It’s either that, or our rights being eroded."

Earlier this year, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) reintroduced the Judiciary Act of 2023 , which would add four more justices to the court. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) threw her weight behind the idea, as did Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and a slew of others .

The problem for our democracy isn't restricted to leftists calling to expand the Supreme Court; our democratic institutions as a whole feel increasingly under threat. In 2017, many Democrats called for abolishing the Electoral College after Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote. In 2021, some Republicans went further and tried to storm the nation's capital rather than allow Joe Biden to become president.

The throughline in each of these attacks is a rise in affective polarization. Affective polarization is defined as "the gap between individuals’ positive feelings toward their own political party and negative feelings toward the opposing party." In layman's terms, affective polarization is when we don't just disagree with the other party — we actively hate them.

Affective polarization is near all-time highs. A 2018 Axios poll found that 61% of Democrats described the GOP as "racist," "sexist," or "bigoted." Fifty-four percent of Republicans described Democrats as "spiteful." Over 20% of respondents on both sides said that the other party was "evil." Maybe that's why a 2016 Pew poll found that 70% of highly engaged Democrats and 62% of highly engaged Republicans said that the other party makes them feel "afraid."

In 2020, Pew found that an astounding 9 in 10 voters across the political spectrum believed that a victory by the other side would lead to "lasting harm" in the country.

The core premise of a liberal democracy is that we all share power. My side might win an election; your side might win a victory at the Supreme Court. Power changes hands regularly, and neither side gets everything they want. When we see our political opponents as merely misguided, that works just fine. I might not like when my team loses a presidential election, but it doesn't make me fear for the future of the country.

But when we see our opponents not as merely misguided but actually evil, then we're no longer willing to cede power. We start to think that we need to protect our country and the people we care about from those awful people on the other side, including by changing the foundational rules of the country so that the other side never comes near power again. Hence, some Democrats wanting to pack the Supreme Court and some Republicans trying to prevent Biden from assuming power.

When both parties are dominated by affective polarization, we get a rapid erosion of our liberal democracy. Coups become a genuine concern, and we turn once-hallowed institutions into political footballs. In the long run, this helps no one.

So what's the solution? We have to come together and stop seeing the other side as evil. Organizations such as Braver Angels and BridgeUSA are doing fantastic work to reduce affective polarization. We can also just go outside and talk to our neighbors across the aisle, which is a good way to remind everyone involved that we're all human beings who want the best for our children, our community, and our country.

If we don't reduce affective polarization and get back to a place where we're willing to share power with the other side, then we're in real danger of losing our republic.

Julian Adorney is a writer and marketing consultant with fee.org , and has previously written for National Review, the Federalist, and other outlets.